There is a demand for high explosives (“HE”), propellants, and other energetic materials that can be initiated more safely than by traditional thermal or electrical means. Using such energetic materials may, for example, prevent accidental electrostatic initiation. High explosives that can be optically initiated using ultraviolet or visible laser light may provide a solution. For at least some applications, these photoactive energetic materials could replace other more conventional explosives that tend to be more sensitive to mechanical and thermal stimuli. Explosive detonators, for example, could be configured for optical initiation using laser light of a suitably low energy (e.g. ultraviolet (“UV”), near-infrared (“near-IR”), or perhaps visible (“VIS”) laser light).
Most high explosives cannot be optically initiated (i.e. are not photoactive) in the wavelength range for visible light. Conventional explosives such as RDX, HMX, and PETN do not absorb in the VIS and near-infrared regions, and absorb only weakly in the UV region. Their initiation using a laser is possible but typically requires much higher frequency laser light than VIS or UV laser light.
Energetic materials that may be optically initiated using relatively low energy laser light are desirable.